Bring Back Wooden Classrooms

The more I hear about kids with learning problems, the more I think about wooden classrooms. I know I'm showing my age, but when I was a kid I went to a school with a lot a wood. Wooden floors, wooden desks, cedarwood pencils, and wood-cased windows that actually opened for a little fresh air. I don't remember a rash of inattentive kids with behavior problems. When I look at today's classrooms, I have to wonder. So many are entirely constructed of plastics and other off-gassing materials, and many don't even have windows that open.

This matter of wooden classroom hit me after an aromatherapy conference where the presenter, a medical doctor, reported on promising work using wood oils (cedarwood, sandalwood, frankincense) to moderate the problems labelled as ADD or ADHD. I remembered all the rich wooden aromas of my old classrooms. I remember the real food served in the cafeteria, cooked up all morning by a crew of people decicated to quality nutrition for kids.

How much might change if we built more wooden classrooms with windows that open, and if we served real food at lunch? A lot, I'll bet.